The Dutch squad has arrived in Windhoek knowing that they need to pull off two outright victories against Namibia and the UAE if they are to keep alive their hopes of reaching the Intercontinental Cup final for the first time.

Their initial task looks pretty daunting, as Namibia have jumped into third place in the table after winning all three games they have played so far, including a sensational victory over leaders Kenya in January.

Benefiting from their participation in South Africa’s three-day competition, where they picked up valuable experience despite finishing at the bottom of their group, the Namibians have emerged as an effective unit, and on their own turf they will provide the Netherlands with a stern challenge.

The Netherlands, on the other hand, have the advantage of being able to field a more-or-less full strength side for the first time in the current campaign, with Essex allrounder Ryan ten Doeschate available and Daan van Bunge and Mohammed Kashif back in the fold.

New coach Peter Drinnen will have some tricky decisions to make before play starts on Thursday, with Van Bunge, Eric Szwarczynski and Geert Maarten Mol probably competing for the final batting place and the issue of whether to play both Kashif and left-arm spinner Pieter Seelaar.

The batting looks pretty strong, with Tom de Grooth and Alexei Kervezee having consolidated their opening partnership in last season’s matches; assuming that they open, Bas Zuiderent, Ten Doeschate and one of Van Bunge, Szwarczynski and Mol will be hoping for a good platform from which to build a big score.

With allrounders Peter Borren and Mudassar Bukhari – the latter the most successful of last season’s debutants – in the middle order, and a seam attack led by Edgar Schiferli and Maurits Jonkman, skipper Jeroen Smits has a well-balanced outfit at his disposal.

The Namibians, however, have plenty of resources of their own, with a deep batting order, a strong seam attack, and the leg spin of Jan-Berry Burger among their principal weapons.

Led by the experienced Louis Burger, the home side will be keen to keep their own challenge for a place in the final on course by chalking up another win.

The main architect of their defeat of the Kenyans was a remarkable 210-ball 230 (out of 282!) by allrounder Gerrie Snyman, who has also registered a century against Griqualand West this season, but opener Dawid Botha and allrounder Bjorn Kotze have also hit hundreds in the Intercontinental Cup.

With the left-arm medium-pace of Bernie Burger and a seam attack which also includes Louis Klazinga, Kotze, Snyman, and Ian van Zyl, Louis Burger has plenty of options.

The two sides seem pretty evenly matched, and if the weather permits the Wanderers Ground should see four days of hard-fought, fascinating cricket.